Chapter 27
The accident on the hillside caused Tong Yufei to suffer a comminuted fracture of the ankle and a complete rupture of the deltoid ligament, which ended her dancing career. Upon hearing the news, the office director of the Municipal Song and Dance Troupe came to visit Tong Yufei to show the humanitarian spirit of the troupe. Tong Jianzhong accepted 120 yuan in "aid money" from the other party. His daughter needed medical treatment and food, which cost money all the time. He couldn't let the quota be lost and he would lose both his money and his life.
Tong Jianzhong, heartbroken, tears streaming down his face, tried to persuade her, "If you can't dance, don't do it. What's the point of dancing? It's just for the rich and powerful. You're just like a starling in a cage. You're a genuine college student. You'd be a good elementary school teacher. It's an honor to be a hardworking gardener. Tell the village party secretary later. She'll teach at Tongjia Village Elementary School."
Tong Yufei had previously argued vigorously, exposing the pain of losing her adoptive parents, to get Examiner Lin to testify on her behalf, proving her initial exam results were well-deserved. But over a hundred yuan, Examiner Lin reneged, suspecting her of merely trying to extort money. Her vindication was now impossible. She lay at home in a daze for two months, unable to resist. To make a living, she was forced to submit to fate, treading a path she had never taken before. She wouldn't blame her family for the pain, but she couldn't be so lenient as to pretend it had never happened.
When something bad happens, you have to blame yourself if you don’t blame others. How can you survive if you always carry a heavy burden on your back?
Tong Wan felt a surge of guilt, burning his heart like a heat wave. "It's our family's fault, my sister's fault, that makes you think about the past. It's always painful. If you don't want the red underwear, then don't. Now everything is based on science. You've read more and have more experience than me. You will plan for yourself, okay?"
Tong Yufei twisted his fingers and said, "There will come a day when I won't have to rely on others."
But before that, she had to cling to others, not knowing whether fate would mock her greed. She accepted its arrangements while trying to break free from its shackles.
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Mo Daoyan rummaged through the boxes and cupboards and found some clothes, old ones that had only been worn a few times, new ones that had not been opened, a few belts, a watch... He put them all into a green mountaineering bag and asked Tong Yufei to give it to Tong Yi, saying that Tong Yi would have to spend money everywhere when she went out in the future, and using these clothes could save some expenses.
Tong Yufei was not interested in Mo Daoyan's "good deed": "Why did you send it to him?"
Mo Daoyan raised his eyebrows and said, "You can knit a scarf for Daoxing, but I can't show some kindness to your brother. Do you think I'm so cold-blooded?"
"How could that be? It's because Tong Yi and Dao Xing are different."
"You seem to be somewhat hostile towards your brother."
"Only his biological father would be infinitely tolerant of a troublemaker like him."
"If it's just parental favoritism, it can't be entirely his fault. In fact, he cares about you a lot and even threatened me not to harm you. I told him to just relax. If you want to talk about harming me, it's his sister who's been obsessed with it."
Tong Yufei stood in front of the table, lowering her head to adjust the buttons of her backpack. Mo Daoyan stood behind her, his breath gently brushing the back of her neck. She couldn't tell whether Tong Yi had said those words or not, but she could tell that Mo Daoyan was a little unusual tonight. If Tong Yi was hostile to him for no reason, with his wisdom, he would not have failed to hear the original meaning of "harm". But he deliberately misinterpreted it, using a funny but not frivolous tone. Was his real intention to make her happy?
This is undoubtedly a positive signal.
She turned around to catch the smile in his eyes and responded with a smile as bright as a flower: "Yes, I have always thought about it. Not only do I replace wine with tea, but I also don't have so many buttons on my clothes."
Mo Daoyan was stunned and pinched the skin on her face unkindly: "It looks thin, but it's actually quite thick."
"Thick-skinned and easy to feed, do you want it?" She walked over and hugged him, her face pressed against his chest, "Mo Daoyan, I just want a little love."
Mathematician Klein said that music can inspire or soothe emotions, painting can be pleasing to the eye, poetry can move the heart, philosophy can bring wisdom, and science can improve material life, but mathematics can provide all of the above. Of all the subjects, Mo Daoyan likes mathematics the most, as it is more concrete. Mathematics has the concept of sets and the boundless positive and negative infinity. While people without boundaries are annoying, the boundless limits of mathematics are precisely its charm: change, fluidity, and the possibility of reaching or not reaching.
This is also why he believes that, regardless of gender, beauty is not equal to beauty. Without the support of knowledge and cultivation, beauty is like an exponential decay function, which gradually declines with the passage of time and eventually tends to zero. A rich and powerful soul will not do this. It is an upward positive parabola with life as the axis, with a lowest point but no upper limit.
In the summer of his sophomore year, the Qiao family still lived on Xingtai Road, across the Lanxing River from Wuling Street. The family of five squeezed into an ordinary residential house for their last year. In the Qiao family's small living room, he argued endlessly with Qiao Zhuocheng about this. Qiao Zhuocheng was a supporter of "beauty is wealth" and used stories from Homer's epic to illustrate that beauty, especially female beauty, is often closely related to social wealth and status and is a symbol. Mo Daoyan refuted it with the four great beauties in ancient times. Xi Shi was considered the most beautiful woman. It must be because Yang Yuhuan was too fat, Concubine Zhao was too thin, or Wang Zhaojun's status was not as good as hers?
When the two were arguing, Qiao Zhuocheng asked his eldest brother who had just returned to China to be the referee to decide who was more right. Qiao Zhuoyuan drank ice-cold beer and laughed at the two silly boys. One said that beauty is wealth, and the other added a qualification, saying that beauty under certain conditions can last for a long time. It is not a contradiction, but a progression. There is no point in judging. As for Mo Daoyan's dullness in being interested in beauty, it has little to do with beauty itself. When you are attracted by the rooster on the grape rack, who cares about the sourness or sweetness of grapes?
Qiao Zhuocheng was completely bewildered. He understood the first half, but the rooster and grapes were a bit baffling. How could it be a rooster and not a hen or a duck? Qiao Zhuoyuan gulped down the whole thing, then smiled and said there had been a crackdown recently, and if someone had reported him, he wouldn't be able to drink white beer anymore. Mo Daoyan immediately understood Zhuoyuan's metaphor: he didn't know the taste of something without firsthand experience. He disagreed, but couldn't find a way to retort. Theory was powerless against a practical man like Qiao Zhuoyuan.
On their wedding night a few years later, he defended his persistence with examples, and now he uses new evidence to support Brother Zhuo Yuan's argument.
Tong Yufei wasn't wearing his ill-fitting pastel-colored coat. Instead, he wore a jade-white shirt, a burgundy cardigan, and pure blue flared pants. A carefully braided side braid draped over his shoulder, like a budding early spring flower, brimming with life. He was clearly the same person, as constant as a number, yet infinitely approaching an invisible end. The rooster on the grapevine had flown away, and all he could see were lush, juicy grapes. With no chess pieces to play, a fluttering, restless throbbing surged through his chest.
But he wasn't the kind of unbridled, shameless person who indulged in lust in broad daylight. So he gently grasped her shoulders and pushed her away: "If someone truly desires something, they want it all. If they don't even have that determination, how can they say they're reluctant to let it go?"
"Looking for fish in a tree will make you think I'm stupid."
"Looking for fish in a tree?"
"You have lofty ambitions, how can you be trapped by petty emotions? There are countless precedents in recent times, not to mention those from the distant past. Our predecessors dedicated their lives to the country, hiding their identities for national development, and even abandoning their families and careers. There's always a sacrifice to make. I can't, for my own selfish gain, compete with the country for talent and waste your talent."
While her words might be a bit flattering, some people get annoyed when criticized, but who would be annoyed when flattered? Men, especially, whether ordinary, mediocre or those with a skill who have achieved modest success, can do whatever it takes to carve out a niche, claiming their own territory, looking down on everyone, and enjoying the worship from their perch. While many receive this admiration passively from their parents, wives, and children, they still find it enjoyable. Take her brother-in-law, Zhao Weimin, a lazy bricklayer struggling to make ends meet. He occasionally harbors the illusion of "I'm the best in the world," thanks to his sister's support for her husband.
Mo Daoyan's knowledge and talent far surpassed those of ordinary people. She spoke calmly and without flattery, but he didn't show any joy at all. He had heard this kind of talk since he was old enough to understand, and his ears were calloused. If someone else said it, it would be no different. So he said calmly, "I don't have the lofty ideals of my ancestors. Naturally, I want to achieve something, but it's not the same as building a shield for the country, and I'm far from being indifferent to fame and fortune. As for the amount of love, although it is related to the time invested, it is not absolute. Otherwise, how could a platonic love last so long? The law on equal husband-wife relationships has been in place since 1950. Unless absolutely necessary, I should be apologizing for not being able to invest more time, not asking you to sacrifice yourself and not dare to ask for more. Doesn't this unequal relationship prove that we are not suitable for each other? What's wrong with asking for fish? The only mistake is asking the wrong person."
She wasn't foolish enough to engage in a passionate debate with Mo Daoyan. Winning or losing wouldn't be good, and there was a high probability she wouldn't win. Since she was going to flatter him, she might as well go all the way. "Well said! Anyone else would probably worry about others not being willing to sacrifice for them, but you taught me to pursue equality. As expected of an international student, your thinking is at the forefront of the times. I will reflect deeply and strive for progress. Doesn't this just prove that I chose the right person? Good birds choose trees to roost in. If I abandon good trees for fish, isn't that like buying the casket and returning the pearl after the casket? Please allow me to say a few words in my defense. Marital equality is protected by law, but equal love is always an ideal. Emotional sacrifice is sometimes necessary. Between us, I am willing to be that missing link between ideal and reality. I hope you will never be distracted by such things."
"Your adoptive parents taught you how to play chess and dance. Did they also teach you the art of conquering the heart from Sun Tzu's Art of War?"
Tong Yufei was slightly taken aback, then lowered his head and smiled, "I'm not very good at learning, and I've neglected the first two. But my adoptive father and mother are both honest people who follow the rules and never know how to scheme. But when you say that, does that mean you're willing to follow suit?"
Mo Daoyan didn't answer, but instead asked, "How did you abandon your major? Is it related to Chen Jueyao? According to your graduation date, you are from the same class."
"There are so many classmates, how can it be related to her? Actually, I also want to do this, I can blackmail the famous people and never worry about food and clothing. But it's a pity that I hurt my foot while riding a bike in Tongjia Village. Miss Chen Er is not a person who can attack others from a distance. Well, have you asked Tong Yi why he targeted Miss Chen Er?"
"He only said that you dance better than Jueyao. It seems that he has a deeper impression of Jueyao than you..."
"Opposites attract."
"The one who named you is..."
"My adoptive father."
"oh……"
"You don't have to feel guilty. I know you didn't mean what you said."
"What's your adoptive father's last name?"
There was a hint of sadness in her voice: "Ye..."
Mo Daoyan didn't ask any more questions, and said with a lost look, "Ye Yufei... a very beautiful surname."
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